Protecting your digital devices – Part 1

This is part 1 of the Tech-Tip series which will be released each week.

We are now almost quarter way into the twenty first century, and firmly established in the digital age. Electronic devices and computer networks permeate every facet of life. We are very dependent on our digital devices, and also very vulnerable to the many threats that entails.

Some threats may be only minor inconveniences, while others could have catastrophic consequences. Below are some of the many pitfalls we may face, how we can protect against them, and the benefits.

Physically protect devices

Invest in a case and screen protector

Interestingly one of the biggest threats to digital devices are ourselves. Whether you are clumsy, careless, or cautious accidents can happen that can leave our valuable devices inoperable, or worse.

In the case of mobile phones and tablets it is extremely beneficial to invest in a case and screen protector. We’ve all heard stories or experiences ourselves times when a device slips and falls a very short distance, yet the screen shatters.

Don't leave unattended

One of the easiest ways to lose or damage our devices is to leave them unattended. They can be damaged or dropped by our own children, or pets, forgotten somewhere we rested it down, or stolen by an opportunistic thief.

Whatever the danger, we can minimize the risk by being more cautious and cognizant of how we handle our devices.

Also, as a rule of thumb, don’t leave devices in a open, unlocked vehicle, and if left in a locked vehicle place it under the seat or somewhere it cannot be easily seen from the outside. There have been many incidents of vehicles being broken into and devices stolen from them.

I personally follow these rules when walking on the road with my phone:

Avoid looking at the screen of my phone very frequently while walking.
Keep my phone in my pocket and only take it out when I need to read something on the screen or reply to a messages.
Maintain a tight grip on it while walking.
NEVER look at my phone while crossing the street.
NEVER remove it from my pocket while crossing a bridge (i’m a little paranoid about my phone falling in a river).
If I’m in a public place and I need to “rest down” my phone I put it back in my pocket instead.
When placing the phone in my pocket, ensure that it is deep enough in the pocket so as to not accidentally fall out, especially if travelling on public transportation.

All men can follow these precautions, and ladies can do the same with their purses.

Password protect your device

If your device is stolen its bad enough that the thief now has our valuable property. It will be even worse if they now have access to all of your even more valuable and sensitive information. There are many ways to protect against this, but the first and easiest method is to password protect your device.

The thief may be able to factory reset your device and use it, but won’t have access to your data.

If you share the device or a trusted person needs to have access you may need to share the password with them (Providing they are not a jealous partner).

If it is a company owned device then the System Administrator should have access to the device

Tips on passwords, as well as ways in which you can protect against losing your data if your lose your device, will be given in future Tech-Tips.